New York Laws
Article 10 - Firefighters and Police Officers
205-A - Additional Right of Action to Certain Injured or Representatives of Certain Deceased Firefighters.

§ 205-a. Additional right of action to certain injured or
representatives of certain deceased firefighters. 1. In addition to any
other right of action or recovery under any other provision of law, in
the event any accident, causing injury, death or a disease which results
in death, occurs directly or indirectly as a result of any neglect,
omission, willful or culpable negligence of any person or persons in
failing to comply with the requirements of any of the statutes,
ordinances, rules, orders and requirements of the federal, state,
county, village, town or city governments or of any and all their
departments, divisions and bureaus, the person or persons guilty of said
neglect, omission, willful or culpable negligence at the time of such
injury or death shall be liable to pay any officer, member, agent or
employee of any fire department injured, or whose life may be lost while
in the discharge or performance at any time or place of any duty imposed
by the fire commissioner, fire chief or other superior officer of the
fire department, or to pay to the wife and children, or to pay to the
parents, or to pay to the brothers and sisters, being the surviving
heirs-at-law of any deceased person thus having lost his life, a sum of
money, in case of injury to person, not less than ten thousand dollars,
and in case of death not less than forty thousand dollars, such
liability to be determined and such sums recovered in an action to be
instituted by any person injured or the family or relatives of any
person killed as aforesaid.

2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including sections
fifty-e and fifty-i of this chapter, section thirty-eight hundred
thirteen of the education law, section ten of the court of claims act
and the provisions of any general, special or local law or charter
requiring as a condition precedent to commencement of an action or
special proceeding that a notice of claim be filed or present, every
cause of action for the personal injury or wrongful death of a
firefighter which was pending on or after January first, nineteen
hundred eighty-seven, or which was dismissed on or after January first,
nineteen hundred eighty-seven, because this section was not yet
effective, or which would have been actionable on or after January
first, nineteen hundred eighty-seven had this section been effective is
hereby revived and an action thereon may be commenced at any time
provided that such action is commenced on or before June thirtieth, two
thousand.

3. This section shall be deemed to provide a right of action
regardless of whether the injury or death is caused by the violation of
a provision which codifies a common-law duty and regardless of whether
the injury or death is caused by the violation of a provision
prohibiting activities or conditions which increase the dangers already
inherent in the work of any officer, member, agent or employee of any
fire department.

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